Small Cool 2009: Bee's Crawl in Wardrobe

What is your one favorite element in your small, cool home?Since mine is a studio flat, everything is in one room so my favourite element has to be how adaptable the layout and furniture is. When I have guests, the daybed becomes a sofa, the stools that make up the window seat become the dining chairs, and the scatter cushions on top of the low bookcases become ideal places to perch. The huge open cupboards that run along the front of this attic room pose as a walk (crawl) in wardrobe, and out of sight storage for magazines, art materials and music. I even use the plate rack to hang drying clothes! A truly versatile home.

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What was one of the biggest challenges you faced in furnishing your small home?I live on the top (fourth) floor of a Victorian conversion, and since it's the loft room the steps leading up to it are tiny and make carrying anything up them extremely awkward. This means I couldn't get large thrifted or antique pieces; everything had to be flat packed and hand built. Instead of rushing to furnish the place, I carefully chose multifunctional pieces and gradually managed to build up a cosy yet practical space. Mixing Ikea's cheapest, plain wood items with their more charming essentials (like the coffee table used for dining) meant that I could have striking features and have fun wood staining, painting, and decoupaging! I draw inspiration from everything around me but my biggest resource was online sites like Apartment Therapy, The Selby, Ikea Hacker, and Design Sponge. I must also mention Livejournal communities like saucydwellings and ourbedrooms, the kind of places where you can discuss ideas and get wonderful feedback.

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